


In the Family Way

by tigermo09



Series: Buckley-Diaz Family Chronicles [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Pregnancy, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Surrogacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:41:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24304591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigermo09/pseuds/tigermo09
Summary: Follows Eddie and Buck as they prepare for the birth of their child.6/28/20 Update: Formerly known as Pregnancy Pact. The idea of the story has changed and I felt like the title didn’t really fit anymore. New title is just a cheeky way of saying someone is pregnant..
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Buckley-Diaz Family Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747921
Comments: 57
Kudos: 195





	1. Pregnancy Pact

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of the Buckley-Diaz Chronicles. The first chapter is backstory of how Eddie and Buck got from part 1 to part 2 and setup for this part. Hopefully you enjoy the interaction and conversation.
> 
> Other characters will make appearances off and on throughout the chapters. 
> 
> Chapter 1: Buck wants to make a pregnancy pact with Maddie

“It says here the human heart grows bigger during pregnancy. How cool is that?”

Eddie put the sci-fi novel he was reading down. Once again, they were unwinding in bed before heading to sleep.

“Very cool,” Eddie said to appease him.

Buck smiled sweetly and looked back at his phone. “Yeah, it’s like how the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes when he learned the true meaning of Christmas.”

Eddie smirked. Only Buck could find a correlation between pregnancy and a Christmas cartoon.

He picked his book back up thinking Buck was finished.

“I‘m not sure I’d ever want to get pregnant if I was a woman.”

_Guess not_. He put his book back down.

“How come?”

Buck looked up from his phone again. “I’ve been reading on Reddit some of the horrors of pregnancy. One discussion even reminded me of this birthing video I had to watch in sex ed in high school. Those are images you can’t unsee.”

Buck’s face scrunched up in disgust at the memory while Eddie just laughed. “I was there for Christopher’s birth. Believe me, you quickly forget all that stuff once you’re holding your child in your arms.”

A dreamy smile split across Buck’s face. “I can’t wait to hold our baby in my arms.”

Eddie couldn’t wait either.

It had been a relatively short, but bumpy road to get to where they were now in regards to growing their family.

At first they discussed if they wanted to adopt or have a kid of their own. Eddie was in the surrogacy camp if Buck would father the child. He couldn’t deny the world a mini-version of the man who gave selflessly to others. 

Buck was in the same camp, but wanted Eddie to do it instead. He was afraid of passing on the unwanted Buckley genes.

To avoid arguing further, they agreed to explore adoption and went so far as to certify as foster parents. 

After that six month process was complete, Maddie and Chim took Buck and Eddie on a double date to celebrate. It wasn’t until this moment that Buck fully opened up to his sister about their early arguments about possibly using a surrogate and who would father the child.

To say Maddie was furious was an understatement. After giving Buck a dressing down about having such a low opinion of himself, she told him not to base his self worth on the shortcomings of their parents. She also reminded him that he had two beautiful nieces who proved his theory wrong. 

Then she turned serious and reached over to grab one of his and Buck’s hands. “If you do decide to find a surrogate, I’d be honored to carry the baby for you.”

Eddie remembered his jaw dropped, but still found the words to thank her because Buck had started crying silently.

Feeling sheepish and fully chastised, Buck wasn’t himself for a couple days after that. Eddie could sense his husband's thoughts were waging an internal battle. He’d become unusually quiet—something he never was—and he let Eddie take on more of the day-to-day tasks that Buck was always quick to split 50/50. He seemed hyper-focused on the people and conversations around him. Eddie caught him at work staring at various co-workers as if he was trying to understand them in a new way.

He was willing to give Buck all the time he needed to draw the same conclusions about himself that Maddie had basically slapped him in the face with. Eddie knew how special his husband was, but the person who really needed to believe it was Buck.

It wasn’t until they were straightening up the house after putting Christopher to bed a couple nights later that Buck finally admitted he had always wanted a biological child—not that he wouldn’t love all their children equally, be they his or Eddie’s or neither biologically—but his parents had did a number on him that he just hadn’t thought a family was in the cards. 

Without realizing it, he had created a life that was filled with people he loved and loved him in return. People who would drop everything in a heartbeat to support him. He had a career that fulfilled him and he was actually good at it. He had a husband who was his other half and a son who awed him with his tenacious spirit.

His past had not negatively defined his present, despite some missteps along the way, but he certainly wasn’t going to let his past dictate the future he wanted. And he wanted to father their child.

Eddie had been elated at the news. He wanted Buck to experience the same joy he had when he first held Christopher in his arms—-the joy of knowing this tiny human was a part of him.

Now, just that morning, they’d found out Maddie was pregnant. Seeing the tears of happiness run down Buck’s face at the news had made Eddie’s heart flutter.

“I need to call Maddie.”

“Why? It’s nearly 10. She might be in bed.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. I want to talk to her about making a pregnancy pact.”

“Pregnancy pact?” Eddie was thoroughly confused.

“Yeah. I figure since she’s taking all the health risk without getting the reward, I could try to simulate whatever pregnancy effects she is having. It’s my way of letting her know she’s not alone the next nine months.”

His heart managed to flutter again. “You’re amazing.”

Buck leaned over and gently kissed Eddie. “I love you.”

Eddie made a little sigh. “I love you too.”

Buck leaned back to his side of the bed and became distracted by his phone again.

“So...are you going to blame your gas on the simulated pregnancy now instead of our imaginary dog?” He sent a big, teasing grin towards Buck.

“Oh, you!” Buck said affronted and hit Eddie in the face with his pillow.

Eddie’s laughter was muffled as Buck jumped fully on top of him and continued to shove the pillow in his face.


	2. Cravings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maddie gets a craving and Buck tries it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place around end of first trimester, beginning of second.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter. It’s a little short. I have the next chapter written out though and it’s longer.

Eddie came home after his shift to find Buck sitting at the dining room table with a bowl sitting in front of him. It was midnight and Eddie was surprised Buck wasn’t in bed already.

“What are you doing up?” Eddie put his work duffel on the floor by the door and removed his shoes. He looked up at his husband and realized he had a pained look on his face.

“You know how I told Maddie and Chim they could call me anytime they needed something while she was pregnant? 

Eddie eyed Buck suspiciously. “Yes.”

“Well Maddie finally took me up on the offer since Chim was on shift with you. She called right after I put Chris to bed and said her cravings were out of control and desperately needed me to get something for her. I called Carla and she was kind enough to come back over.” Buck sighed. “She’s getting an amazing bonus this year for that.”

“Okaaay,” Eddie said, drawing out the word. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re still up, sitting at the table with a bowl in front of you.”

“Well, pregnancy pact, right? Trying to get the full pregnancy experience by simulating the effects...that means cravings too...no matter how disgusting.”

Eddie moved closer. “What is  _ it _ ?”

Buck looked over at Eddie with wide eyes and swallowed. “Mashed potatoes and caramel sauce.”

Eddie’s stomach turned a little. “Don’t do it.”

“I have to. What kind of brother would I be if I went back on my word?”

“It’s between me and you, Buck. No one else has to know.”

“I’ll know.” Buck looked at the food in front of him. He took a deep breath. “Ok, I’m going to do it.”

Buck took the spoon sitting on the table and scooped up some of the potatoes onto it. He raised it slowly to his mouth and Eddie fought the urge to swat it out of his hand. He couldn’t believe Buck was going to go through with this.

Buck put the food in this mouth and put the spoon down. 

Eddie waited to see whether Buck would spit it out or choke. Instead, he actually chewed and then swallowed it.

Buck looked over at where Eddie stood and he smiled. “Actually, it’s not that bad.”

“What?” Eddie asked in disbelief.

“I mean, I’m not putting it on our Thanksgiving menu, but it didn’t make me gag. I’ll consider that a win.” Buck scooped some more onto his spoon and stood up to approach Eddie. 

Holding the spoon out to him he said, “Here. Try it.”

Eddie shook his head and put his hands up to ward Buck off if he came closer. “Don’t put that anywhere near my mouth.”

Buck’s eyes twinkled and he smirked. “That’s not what you said last night.”

Eddie blushed slightly at the memory and shook his head. “I’m going to leave you with your midnight snack. I’m exhausted.”

“K. I’m just going to clean up and then I’ll join ya.”

Eddie started heading down the hall to their bedroom. “Make sure you do something with the rest of that. I don’t want to find it sitting in our fridge tomorrow.”

&&&

The next morning, Eddie was putting his shoes on to take Chris to school. Buck approached from the kitchen and handed Christopher his lunch box.

“Here you go, Superman. Have a great day at school!”

“Thanks, Papa,” he said as Buck leaned down and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Once Buck stood up again, Eddie leaned over to give Buck a quick kiss. “See you at work in a little bit.”

Buck smiled and nodded before locking the door behind them.

After Eddie helped get Christopher in the car, he pulled out of the driveway. He could hear rustling in the back as Christopher got himself settled and then a zipper opening.

“Uh, Dad?”

“Yes, Chris?”

“Why are there mashed potatoes with caramel sauce in my lunch box?”

Eddie made a quick mental note to give Christopher some money to buy lunch when they reached his school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Kudos and comments are love!
> 
> Next Chapter is the gender reveal. I should hopefully have it posted within the next week.


	3. Gender Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Buck have a gender reveal party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took me a little time to get out if you were waiting. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> Hope you enjoy 😊

“I want to have a gender reveal party.”

“What?” Eddie asked, distracted as he focused on finding a parking spot at the OB/GYN office. They were meeting Maddie for her 18 week ultrasound appointment. If the baby cooperated, they would get to learn the sex.

“I said, I want to have a gender reveal party.”

Eddie turned off the car after putting it in park and turned fully to his husband. “Buck, you do remember how often you poke fun at people who throw gender reveal parties, right?”

Buck rolled his eyes. “It was _one_ time, Eddie. Who thinks using a stick to pop a balloon is smart anyways? And _then_ to get so frustrated when it’s not working that you swing too hard, the stick bounces off the balloon—out of your hands—and smacks the mother of your child in the face.” 

Eddie could tell Buck was trying not to laugh again at the image he had in his head. The guests present at the party had videoed the whole incident and took perverse pleasure in showing it to Buck.

“But seriously, Eddie, Chris isn’t here. I want him to be a part of this too.”

Eddie’s breath caught. Now that Buck said it, he realized something had felt off all day. It was that Christopher wasn’t there to share this moment.

“And if we’re going to wait to tell Chris, we might as well announce it to our family and friends too.” Buck smirked. “You know they’ll be hounding us after today. Let’s make them sweat a little.”

Eddie chuckled. “Sometimes, you have such a devious mind.” He reached over and grabbed Buck’s hand. “But you do realize, you will also be sweating? If we do this, that means no peeking before the party.”

Buck gasped in mock outrage and clutched his chest. “How could you think I would do something like that, Mr. Buckley-Diaz?”

Eddie smiled. “You forget how well I know you, Mr. Buckley-Diaz.

Buck smiled, “Touché.” He then got out of the truck.

Eddie followed and interlaced his hand with Buck as they headed inside.

&&&

An hour later, Buck, Eddie, and Maddie exited the building and headed to her car. Buck was holding a sealed, white envelope.

“I can’t believe you want to have a gender reveal, Buck. You’re always poking fun of them.”

Eddie chuckled since he said the same thing earlier and Buck threw a stern _shut up_ look at him. He cleared his throat in apology.

“It was one time, Maddie.” Buck took her keys to unlock the vehicle and open the door for her. “I want to share this moment with everyone who has supported us.”

Maddie sighed and hugged her brother. “You’re a good man, Evan.”

Buck blushed at his sister’s compliment.

She turned around and gave Eddie a hug too. “You are too,” she whispered in his ear.

Eddie gave her a quick squeeze in response before releasing her.

“So do you know what you’re going to do for the reveal?” Maddie asked as she stood in the open door.

“No clue. But it’s going to be epic,” Buck said.

Eddie shook his head. “I’m sure I’ll be in charge of putting out any fires.” Maddie laughed.

“Babe, I wouldn’t do anything that could start a fire.”

“I meant figurative fires. Let’s face it, you’re a magnet for trouble.”

Buck scoffed. “Whatever.” He stuck his tongue out.

Eddie chuckled. “Real mature, mi amor.”

“Well, I better head off,” Maddie said, interrupting them. “My shift starts in an hour.” As she prepared to sit down in the driver’s seat, she quickly grabbed the white envelope out of Buck’s hand while he was still distracted by Eddie. 

“Hey!” Buck yelled in protest. “We need to be able to give that to whoever is setting up the reveal portion of the party.”

“I don’t trust you not to peek. Just let me know where and when and I’ll show up with the envelope to hand it over personally.” 

Buck sighed as Eddie closed her door. She rolled down the window after starting the car and stuck her arm out to wave as she drove off.

“If she wasn’t my sister…” Buck grumbled and let the statement trail off.

Eddie put his hand on Buck’s lower back. “It’s for the best. I can’t say I wouldn’t have been tempted to peek either.”

Buck quickly leaned over and kissed Eddie’s cheek. “Thank you for admitting that!”

Eddie grinned and guided Buck over to the truck.

“Let’s get this party planning rolling. The sooner we do that, the sooner we won’t be in suspense anymore.”

&&&

True to word, everyone hounded Eddie and Buck for the sex of the baby later that day during their shift. 

On the ride home from the appointment, Buck told Eddie he planned to tell them they knew the sex of the baby, but decided to keep it a secret until the birth. He thought it would be a fun, harmless way to mess with their coworkers and asked Eddie to play along. So he quietly went about his day and tried to let Buck handle all the questions.

When dinner rolled around a couple hours later, Eddie headed to the loft. Buck was already at the table chatting with Hen and Chim. He had a plate piled with food in front of him and a similar plate beside him at the empty chair—Eddie’s usual spot.

“Thanks,” he said as he sat next to Buck and squeezed his thigh. He quickly tucked into his meal.

“I can’t believe you won’t tell us if you’re having a boy or girl,” Hen muttered. “I think we deserve to know for putting up with your ass most of the time.” Hen smirked to show Buck she was slightly joking.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you won’t tell us,” Chim added. Eddie eyed Chim knowing he was playing along with the ruse since he was aware his wife had the sealed envelope.

Buck leaned forward. “What’s the answer worth to ya?”

Hen tore off a piece of her dinner roll and threw it at Buck. Everyone laughed and continued chatting while finishing their meal.

After everyone had eaten, Hen and Chim stood up to go restock the ambulance. Eddie bumped his shoulder against Buck’s. “How long are you going to keep this up?”

Buck looked around to make sure no one was close to overhear. “Not too much longer. I had a brilliant idea. What if we have everyone over for a barbecue this weekend, but not tell them it’s for the gender reveal?”

He smirked at Buck. “The bait and switch angle.” Buck nodded in response and they moved to clear their dishes.

&&&

Over the course of the next couple of days, they went about planning a barbecue for the upcoming weekend and invited their fire family, including Michael, Josh, and Albert, and Eddie’s abuela and tia. Amazingly everyone was free on such short notice.

Buck also wanted to extend an invite to Eddie’s parents. Despite having a contentious relationship in the past, things had improved when Eddie had gotten remarried—you couldn’t help but love Buck. Eddie knew his parents wouldn’t be able to make the trip on such short notice though, so Buck came up with the idea of calling a bakery in El Paso after the BBQ and having two cupcakes delivered to their house with colored frosting inside. Then they could all FaceTime as his parents ate their cupcakes. Eddie was thankful his husband had a big heart.

When it came to deciding on how to reveal the baby’s gender at the barbecue, however, Eddie and Buck could not agree. Eddie knew he often lacked imagination, but he figured they should go the safe route with a simple cake or balloons—avoid becoming the next couple with a gender reveal fail discussed online—or a phone call to 9-1-1.

Buck, in true Buck fashion, wanted something more original.

In the end, Christopher made the decision for them.

“Can I wear a cape to the party?” he asked innocently as they ate breakfast. He was going through a cape phase. 

Buck’s eyebrows rose and his eyes went wide as if he had a sudden idea. His head swiveled towards Eddie and Eddie just nodded to let him know he could run with whatever thought he had.

“Sure, superman. We’ll get you an extra special cape to wear,” said Buck happily. 

Eddie learned later Buck’s plan included asking their sweet, widowed neighbor, Mrs. Rodgers, to sew the cape. She was happy to help after Buck explained the reason for his request.

&&&

The day of the party arrived and all the guests were in the backyard enjoying the good weather, the good food, and the good company. None of them had any clue they were going to learn the sex of the baby that day.

Eddie was thankful they were finally going to find out, not only because he was excited to know, but Athena had been glaring at him all day as if he was solely responsible for her not knowing the gender of her pseudo-grand baby yet. He was starting to think Buck may have thrown him under the bus by telling her it was his idea to keep it a secret.

He looked over to where Christopher was playing with Denny and Harry when he heard their laughter. He wore his new red cape proudly. It had a red “C” sewn to a big, blue star patch that was velcroed in the center back of the cape. He had received many compliments on his outerwear.

Eddie glanced around again and caught his husband’s eye. He was in a conversation with Hen, Karen, and Michael. 

Eddie tilted his head to ask _Should we do it now?_ Buck nodded in response and politely excused himself before approaching his side.

“Excuse me, everyone. Could we have your attention?” Buck said loudly.

Once everyone was settled and paying attention, and Christopher and Maddie were standing with them, Eddie took over. “We just wanted to thank everyone for being here. We are truly blessed to have each one of you in our lives.”

“Some more than others,” Buck squeezed out while looking at Chim.

“Hey!” Chim scoffed and everyone laughed.

“Just kidding, Chim. I’m truly lucky to be able to call you brother.”

“I second that,” Albert added, raising his beer. Chim blushed, while Albert and Buck nodded to each other.

Eddie tried to get the conversation back on track. “We’re also incredibly humbled by the outpouring of love and support from each of you as we prepare to grow our little family.” 

“Yeah,” Athena cut in. “so thankful that you can’t tell us the gender of the baby.” She clucked in annoyance.

Eddie’s face turned slightly red at the scolding words and Buck chuckled knowing Athena had been giving him a hard time lately.

To help Eddie out, Buck put his hands on Christopher’s shoulder and turned his back to their audience.

“Well, maybe we can remedy that.”

Buck grasped the velcroed star and ripped it away. Underneath the patch, the words _I’m getting a baby sister for Christmas_ were sewn.

All around people gasped as they read the words and then cheered.

Eddie and Buck quickly glanced at what it said and then grabbed each other into a bear hug.

“A girl. Eddie, we’re having a girl.” Buck’s words muffled against Eddie’s neck.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Buck replied and they kissed each other once before bending down to draw Christopher into the circle of their arms.

“You’re going to have a sister, Chris!” Eddie said.

Christopher bounced on his crutches and smiled widely.

They broke apart as their family and friends gathered around them to offer congratulations.

Maddie was crying tears of joy.

Chim couldn’t believe there was going to be another female in the family. “Congrats! Prepare to want to keep her locked up until she’s 30,” he said to his brothers-in-law.

Bobby hugged Buck, while Athena gently slapped Eddie’s shoulder in mock outrage. “You all about gave me a heart attack when I realized what was happening.” Then she smiled and pulled him into a tight hug. “I loved every minute of it. Thanks for not keep me in suspense for the next 5 months.”

Bobby smiled at his wife and put his arm around her. “Did you all even know before now you were having a girl?”

“No,” Eddie chuckled.

“So you were lying to us this past week?” Athena asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yes, that was the beauty of my plan. Keep you all on your toes,” Buck said, chuckling.

“I should have known you were the ringmaster and this was your circus,” Athena replied, side-eyeing Buck “You made me think it was all Eddie’s idea to keep us in the dark until the birth.”

Eddie glared at Buck now that his suspicion was confirmed. “Remember, I know where you sleep.”

Buck sheepishly shrugged his shoulders in return.

&&&

After all their guests had left and Christopher was snuggled up with his new cape in bed, Eddie and Buck sat intertwined on the couch, sharing a beer between them. 

“I think that went well,” Buck said as he took a sip and handed it to Eddie.

“I can’t believe you made Athena think it was my idea. You know that saying _if looks could kill_ , well, I’d have been dead twice over by now.”

“When are you going to learn, babe, her bark is worse than her bite.”

Eddie put the beer to his lips. “Says the man who is the animal whisperer.”

Buck grinned as Eddie handed back the beer. They sat quietly for a few minutes, lost in thought, until Buck broke the silence.

“We’re having a girl,” Buck uttered in awe.

Eddie grabbed Buck’s hand, intertwined their fingers, and squeezed.

“I know,” he said in return.

“She’s going to have us wrapped around her finger.”

“I know,” Eddie repeated.

They both turned their heads to look at each other and Eddie saw his own joy reflected back at him from Buck’s eyes.

Buck raised the beer and said “Here’s to the next chapter.” He drank from the bottle and handed it back to Eddie.

Eddie raised it up. “To the next chapter.” He drank the last of the beer and leaned forward to put the bottle on the coffee table.

Buck stood and reached down to grab Eddie’s hands. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”

Eddie followed Buck down the hall to heir bedroom.

“Since I’m always bad cop to your good cop routine with our son, do you think we could do a role reversal with our daughter?” Eddie asked.

Buck immediately turned in front of Eddie and gave him a sexy smirk with _come fuck me_ eyes. Eddie’s heart stopped and he gulped.

“Now why would we want to do something like that? I always like it when you’re the _BAD_ cop.” 

Then Buck grabbed the front of Eddie’s shirt and pulled him into their bedroom.


	4. Baby Bump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buck wears a pregnancy suit for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. It was hard writing this one. I can’t even tell you how many times I re-edited this sucker. Have to let my little bird fly at this point or it will drive me nuts. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. Enjoy!

Eddie exited the locker room in search of his husband. Today, they were on overlapping 12 hour shifts and he had just arrived for the start of his, while Buck had been there since the morning.

He spotted Hen first though sorting through supplies in the back of the ambulance. She greeted him with, “Have you seen your boy, yet?” 

“No. Why?”

Hen’s eyes sparkled and she gave him a wide grin. “Just askin’.”

Eddie’s brows furrowed in confusion at her reaction. “Do you know where he is?”

“Try the loft,” she said

“Thanks,” Eddie replied as he headed to the stairs.

When he reached the top, he saw Buck was laying on the couch. From his angle, all he could see was the top of Buck’s head as it rested on the arm of the couch.

He came up from behind and leaned over the back to greet his husband.

“Hi, cariño,” he said as he glanced down.

Buck was relaxing and had his hands resting on top of the belly of a pregnancy suit. Not the cheap kind either. This one had the added weight.

“What the hell, Buck?”

Buck looked up at his husband and saw his gaze on his belly.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I decided to wear this today. Maddie was so upset the other day when I met her for lunch. She was feeling gross and her back hurt. So as part of the pact, I thought I would take one of these empathy bellies for a spin.”

“Where did you even find that thing?”

Buck’s face turned slightly red. “Uh, I may know a nurse in the maternity ward at the hospital who owed me a favor.”

Eddie eyed his husband, but wisely kept his mouth shut. He had an inkling how he might know this nurse.

Eddie spied Bobby approaching out of the corner of his eye and turned to greet him. “Hey, Cap.” 

“Hi, Eddie.” Bobby glanced over at Buck. “Buck, I thought I told you to take that thing off.”

Eddie’s head swiveled back to his husband. “You didn’t even get permission to wear it at work?”

Buck ignored his question. 

“Please, Bobby!” he pleaded as he sat up. “I know it’s not ideal, but I promise I’ll take it off on calls if it could jeopardize my safety or the safety of someone else.”

“Wait, you plan on wearing that during calls?” Eddie said incredulously.

“Of course. I can’t half ass this, Eddie. I made a pact with Maddie.”

“Why didn’t you just pick a day you were off?”

Buck opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it. “Huh, that might have been the smarter idea.”

Eddie shook his head and looked back at Bobby expecting him to pull rank.

Instead, Bobby sighed. “If we’re on a call and I say ‘off,’ it’s off. No arguments.” Buck nodded quickly.

Eddie was dumbstruck.

Bobby raised his right index finger. “And if even one person files a complaint, you’re explaining it to the top brass.”

“Aye, aye, Cap!” Buck saluted Bobby.  _ Cheeky bastard _ .

Eddie sighed and plopped down next to Buck on the couch.

“You do realize you’re going to look ridiculous on calls. People will stare.”

“People stare at ladies who are  _ actually  _ pregnant, Eddie. If they can handle it, I can too.”

Eddie never liked to call attention to himself personally, but he knew Buck didn’t have the same hang-ups he did. He’d try to be supportive of his husband.

&&&

An hour later, Eddie realized his husband really was taking the empathy suit seriously because he also seemed to have developed a case of “pregnancy brain.”

First, Buck lost the key to the ladder truck.

Bobby had asked the two of them to wash down the ladder truck—something they had never done together despite having worked similar shifts for three years. Buck volunteered to get the key, but managed to misplace it between the lockbox and where Eddie was waiting with the cleaning supplies. He swore he hadn’t made any detours, but was proven wrong when Chim showed up, hand outstretched with the key. 

“You left this in the gym when you were talking to me about the proper chest press posture.” 

Buck just looked at Eddie sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders in response.

Second, Buck kept getting distracted while wielding the water hose.

“Can I run the hose? I’m having trouble bending over in this thing and I’d probably have a greater chance of getting the pregnancy suit wet if I do the scrubbing. It is a loaner after all,” Buck argued.

“Or you could just take it off and it would have zero chance of getting wet.”

“I can’t—“

Eddie cut Buck off, “—‘half ass this.’ I know. But you do realize if you were really pregnant, Bobby wouldn’t have you washing the rig.”

Buck waved his hand dismissively at Eddie. “Details.”

Eddie sighed. He bent over to grab the sponge out of the bucket when he was hit in the butt by a blast from the hose.

“Buck!” Eddie yelled as he jumped out of the way.

“Whoops! Sorry. I didn’t realize the nozzle was in the ‘on’ position.”

Eddie eyed Buck suspiciously, but he looked sincere. “Ok, just watch where you’re pointing that thing next time.”

Buck smirked and opened his mouth, but Eddie put up a hand to stop him. “No sexual repartee right now. We need to get this done.”

Buck pouted, but they continued working. 

Five minutes later, Eddie got hit with the spray again, this time in the back. When he turned around, Buck was glancing at his phone, none the wiser.

“Buck! You sprayed me again!”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, Eddie. I was distracted by a pregnancy meme Maddie sent.” 

Eddie glared, but took a deep breath. Buck was easily distracted. Everyone knew this.

They continued on again and Eddie had just finished soaping the truck when water hit him on his right side.

Eddie whirled around, but Buck was staring at the sky.

Eddie looked up to see what had drawn his attention. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Buck, what are you staring at?”

Buck pointed up. “Do you think that cloud looks like an ice cream cone? Triple scoop?”

Eddie tossed the sponge into the water bucket. “With that, I’m going to go change and you can finish up here.”

“Sure thing,” Buck replied.

Eddie headed inside. 

Lesson learned. He would wield the hose when Buck was involved. 

&&&

A half hour later, the bell rang signaling an emergency.

This was the inevitable moment Eddie had been dreading all day. Buck wearing the pregnancy suit out in public while on a call.

“What’s the situation, Cap?” Chim asked after they were rolling out of the station.

Bobby swiveled his head around. “Minor accident. No major injuries, but LAPD has requested medical assistance.” Bobby looked pointedly at Buck. “Looks like you can keep the suit on for this one.”

Buck smiled and pumped his fist in the air. “Oh, yeah!”

Eddie sighed inwardly.

Once they arrived, Eddie assessed the scene as Bobby immediately walked away to talk to the police sergeant present. It appeared a black pickup t-boned the passenger side of a gray SUV as it tried to make a right hand turn into traffic. Based on the condition of the cars, neither vehicle had to have been going very fast. A male was standing off to the side talking to one police officer, while a young lady was sitting on the curb nearby talking on her cell phone.

“Hen. Chim.” Bobby said as he returned. “Check out the gentleman over there. He was driving the truck.” 

Hen and Chim already had their medical bags in hand and went to him.

“Eddie. Check out the young lady on the curb. She was driving the SUV.” Eddie nodded.

“Buck, you’re assisting Eddie.”

Eddie and Buck both turned around to get medical supplies from the truck and Buck’s belly hit Eddie in the side.

“Oh, man! Sorry.” Buck chortled.

Once they had the bags, Eddie and Buck approached the female driver sitting on the curb.

“Hi, miss,” Eddie said as he crouched down in front of the young woman. Buck stood off to the side. “My name is Eddie. I’m a firefighter with the LAFD. And this is my partner, Buck. Can you tell me your name?”

The woman looked at Eddie. “Angela.”

“Ok, Angela. I’m going to check you over for any injuries. Let me know if anything hurts. Can you tell me what happened?”

As she explained how the accident occurred, Eddie started doing preliminary checks for external and possible internal injuries—Buck handing him equipment as needed without him having to ask.

“Does it hurt when I press here?” Eddie pushed against Angela’s left rib cage. Angela shook her head no. 

“Well, the good news is, you just have some minor bumps and bruises from the impact. Just take it easy the next couple of days and if anything gets worse, go to the hospital immediately.” Eddie started packing up his supplies. “Just give us a few minutes to get you cleared and then you can head home.”

“Grest,” she said sarcastically. “Do you make house calls too? Because my sister is going to kill me when she finds out her new car was in an accident.”

“I’m sure she’ll just be thankful you weren’t seriously injured,” Buck said.

“You don’t know my sister,” Angela grumbled. She finally looked directly at Buck and her eyes widened as she assessed what he was wearing.

“Why’re you wearing that?” She pointed towards Buck’s stomach. “Did you lose a bet? Or is it part of first responder training?”

“Oh, no. I’m having a baby.” Eddie silently groaned as he finished zipping up his bag.

She looked at Buck confused. “You’re pregnant?”

“He’s not pregnant,” Eddie cut in, standing.

“Eddie!” Buck said in mock outrage. He grabbed the belly with his hands. “You would deny our child?”

Eddie shook his head in exasperation. Angela was swiveling her head between Buck and him, waiting to see what happened next.

“I’m not playing this game with you right now, Buck,” Eddie said as he slung the medical bag over his shoulder. He saw a hurt expression cross Buck’s face fleetingly before he caught Angela’s gaze zeroing in on their ring fingers. They both were wearing their matching steel gray, silicone wedding bands.

“Oh my god! You’re married! When you said ‘partner,’ I just thought you meant coworker.”

Eddie put on a stiff, but polite smile. “No, I meant coworker, but yes, we are also married...and I can see how that would be confusing.”

“Ok, but I still don’t understand why he’s wearing that.” She gestured towards the empathy suit.

“Like I said, we’re having a baby,” Buck echoed. 

Eddie blew out a breath. He had no idea why Buck was being vague. Normally he was a chatterbox.

“What he means is we are having a baby via surrogate. He’s wearing the empathy suit today to learn what it’s like to be pregnant and to show support for our surrogate.”

Angela looked between Buck and Eddie. “That’s really sweet actually. Congratulations.”

Buck beamed and said, “Thank you.”

Eddie pressed his hand to Buck’s shoulder before turning back to Angela. “I’ll let the officer know you are medically cleared. But stick around until they release you.”

“And don’t worry about your sister,” Buck added. “I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“Thanks for looking me over,” Angela replied. “I apologize, if my questions were too nosy.”

Eddie nodded in response and steered Buck back to the truck as he said, “Take care.”

Eddie then leaned in closer to Buck. “I’m sorry for being a little gruff back there. I was feeling uncomfortable.”

Buck put his hand on Eddie’s arm. “It’s ok. Why didn’t you tell me the belly suit bothered you?”

“I was trying to be supportive.”

“You know if you had told me how you were feeling, I would have taken it off and just worn it another day.”

“Really?”

Buck smiled softly. “Really.”

Eddie smiled back, but then noticed Buck seemed to be walking a little slower than usual. Eddie grabbed the strap of the medical bag off his shoulder.

“Eddie, I can carry that. I’m not an invalid.”

“Let me take care of you, mi amor. You’re carrying my child after all.” Eddie threw him a wink.

Buck laughed out loud. “Ok, thanks. Carrying around this suit is harder than I thought it would be.”

Eddie put the bags back into the truck while Buck stood next to him.

“Does taking care of me also include a back massage?” Buck asked. Eddie eyed Buck curiously as Buck rubbed his lower back.

“If you play your cards right, that can probably be arranged,” he replied as Buck climbed back in the truck. “Be right back.”

Eddie headed towards Bobby to give him an update on Angela. Buck leaned out the truck window and yelled, “I want to try the sweet almond scented oil we just bought.”

Eddie winced and ducked his head as officers nearby looked over and chuckled.

&&&

The next day Buck and Eddie we’re back at the firehouse waiting for their shift meeting to start. 

Bobby walked in. “Good morning crew. This afternoon, we have an elementary school field trip. For now, the chore list is posted in the loft. I’ll be up shortly to get breakfast started. Stay on your toes and be safe. Dismissed.”

Everyone started to leave, but Bobby asked Eddie and Buck to stay behind.

“What’s up, Cap?” Buck asked when everyone else had departed.

“Despite your shenanigans yesterday, Buck, we didn’t get a single complaint. In fact it seems the young lady from the accident even sent an email to the city to give kudos to us for a job well done.” Eddie was shocked, but Buck grinned at Bobby.

“However, next time, let’s get approval through the proper channels first. Ok?”

“Of course, Cap,” Eddie replied for Buck. “I’m hoping there won’t be a next time, but I’ll make sure he remembers to run any other ideas through you first.”

Bobby nodded and headed to the loft.

Buck turned towards Eddie. “See, no harm, no foul.”

“You do realize that could have gone in a completely different direction though, right?”

“I will concede to your point if you admit I looked cute with a baby bump.” Buck smiled widely to show Eddie he was messing with him.

Eddie shook his head and laughed at Buck’s joke. “I’m glad it’s gone. It seemed to give you a real case of ‘pregnancy brain’ yesterday.” Eddie held up three fingers. “You accidentally soaked me with the hose three times!”

Buck wrapped his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Oh, Eddie, it’s so cute you think I sprayed you accidentally.” 

Buck winked and quickly jogged away, while Eddie mentally vowed revenge.


	5. Paint Chips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Buck at Home Depot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Buck held onto the Home Depot cart in the bathroom fixture aisle while Eddie scrutinized shower curtain rods.

“Eddie. It’s just a curtain rod. Pick one and let’s go.”

“I just want to make sure to get one that is sturdy and hopefully avoid _this_ from happening again,” Eddie said without turning around.

_This_ being the metal rod breaking when Buck grabbed it during their morning sexy time in the shower. He definitely wanted to prevent Buck from winding up sprawled, ass up, on the bathroom floor again. Although, the memory of the events preceding it made his blood immediately heat.

He went back to examining the various kinds of rods again. _Tension rods. Fixed rods. Curved rods. Straight rods. Dual mount. Brushed nickel. Oil rubbed bronze. Carbon steel._

Eddie blew out a breath. _Had anyone else noticed how sexual everything sounded?_

“Excuse me, can I help you?”

Eddie straightened and glanced to his right. A man in his early 20s was standing there wearing the orange vest signifying he was an employee. His name tag read “Ryan.” 

“Uh, yeah. I’m looking to replace our curtain rod that broke.”

“Broke?”

“Yeah, snapped in two,” Buck added. Eddie could hear the terse tone in his voice. When he glanced at his husband, he noticed Buck’s eyes were narrowed at the newcomer. _What had happened?_

“Really?” Ryan asked, unaffected by Buck’s demeanor. “I guess it could happen if the rod is rusty.”

Buck leaned forward over the cart and his mouth transformed into a smirk. “Oh, the rod isn’t rusty. It sees a lot of action.” Then he winked.

Eddie’s breath hitched at Buck’s statement. _Oh, god. He’s talking about a different type of “rod.”_ _Abort! Abort!_

Ryan’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “What?”

Eddie knocked his shoulder into Buck’s to tell him to stay calm. Buck glared slightly at him.

“Don’t mind my husband. We had a rather...eventful morning. Could you just recommend one?” Eddie asked.

The clerk nodded and smiled sweetly in return. “Well, I would recommend a fixed rod if you have the hardware. Tension rod design has improved, but you could still run the risk of it slipping down the tiles.” 

“Uh, yeah. The sturdier the better,” Eddie replied.

Ryan grabbed one off the shelf. “This is our best seller.”

Eddie grabbed it without looking and threw it into the cart. “Great. Thanks for your help. Have a nice day.”

Eddie steered Buck and the cart around Ryan and down the aisle.

“Yeah, go try to flirt with someone else’s husband,” Buck muttered under his breath.

“What do you mean? Why were you acting like that?”

“What? I’m just supposed to let someone ogle my husband while I’m standing there?”

Eddie startled and stopped in place—Buck stopping next to him. “No, he wasn’t.”

“Yes, he was.” Buck sighed. “You were so busy examining those... _rods_...you didn’t notice he was going to completely ignore us until he saw you bent over. You know your ass looks amazing in those jeans.”

He frowned down at his pants. He did have his date night jeans on and they did guarantee a happy ending to the evening. “They were the only clean pair of jeans I had.”

“Well, you can’t expect me to not go all caveman on a dude when he’s checking you out. You’re mine.” Buck practically growled the last words.

Eddie smiled seductively. “I am yours, mi amor. Guaranteed, no matter how awesome my ass looks in these jeans, you’re the only one seeing my ass out of them.”

Buck’s eyes locked on Eddie's. “Damn, right.” Then he leaned forward and planted a quick, but passionate kiss on Eddie’s lips.

Eddie grinned. “Are you ready to head out? Maybe continue what was interrupted this morning?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Buck’s eyes heated and opened his mouth to reply before his gaze swung over Eddie’s shoulder.

“Oh!” Buck exclaimed and his eyes lit up. “Eddie! Look at all the paint chips.” Buck quickly rushed around him.

“Look at all these pretty colors!”

Eddie swung around and saw Buck picking up paint chips.

“What do you think?” He held up a yellow paint chip by one cheek. “Lily Bulb?” Then he held up a green paint chip next to his other cheek. “Or Misty Meadow?”

Eddie’s brow furrowed. “Why are we picking out paint chips?”

“Duh, for the nursery.”

“Ah. I should have realized.” Eddie’s face had a soft smile as he watched his husband.

“I think we should go with a muted green or yellow. But I can’t decide on which one to pick.”

He looked at both colors. “I think either is fine.”

“C’mon, Eddie. Both colors evoke different feelings. I was reading that yellow is cheerful, while green is calming.”

“Well, I guess if she’s half as excitable as you are, we should probably go with the _calming_ color.” Eddie laughed at his own joke.

Buck scoffed and cuffed Eddie in the shoulder. He then focused on each paint chip individually before nodding in agreement. “I think I do prefer green over yellow.”

“Great. I’ll go ask the guy to make us a can.” Eddie started to walk off, but halted when Buck grabbed his bicep.

“Wait. Maybe Misty Meadow isn’t the right shade though.”

Eddie watched Buck start to grab additional green shades. “What about Four Leaf Clover?...Or Galway?...Or Irish Folklore?” He held each paint chip in turn.

“Is it a requirement that all green paint have an Irish themed name?”

Buck sighed impatiently. “Eddie. Be serious. This color is going to be a huge part of her life. I can still remember the blue walls in my childhood room.”

Eddie nodded in agreement, recalling his own childhood room and the memories. He grabbed the paint chips out of Buck’s hand and looked at each one.

“Umm, I like Galway. It has a nice brightness to it, while still being subtle.”

He handed the chips back to Buck, who eyeballed each of them again as if he was picturing what they would look like on the wall. “Yeah, I like it too.”

“Great! So can I get the guy to mix a can of it for us?”

Buck kissed Eddie’s cheek. “Sure. I’m going to go pick up additional supplies we’ll need. Like a roller and painter’s tape.”

“K,” he responded as he grabbed the chip out of Buck’s hand and went over to the paint mixing desk.

Twenty minutes later, they walked out of Home Depot. Eddie glanced at the bags they loaded into his truck. Buck had picked up a little more than just a roller and painter’s tape, but the joy radiating off his body was infectious.

“So, you didn’t answer me earlier. Once we get home and I get the new curtain rod installed, do you want to continue sexy time?” He asked as they got settled in the truck. “Christopher is at abuela’s until this evening.”

“Eddie, we don’t have time. We need to start cleaning out the guest room so we can paint it.”

“You want to start painting today?” Eddie’s asked, incredulously.

“Why not? ‘Never leave til tomorrow which you can do today.’ Did you know Benjamin Franklin said that?”

Eddie grimaced, but nodded. Cockblocked by Ben Franklin. Ironic considering he himself had been such a rake.

“Sure, mi amor.”


	6. Choosing a Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Buck ty to pick a name for their daughter.

“Natalie?”

“No.”

“Gretchen.”

“No,”

“What about Rachel?”

Eddie sighed. “No.”

For the past week, Buck had been suggesting first names for their daughter and he was all over the map. 

In the checkout line at the supermarket.

“Darcy?”

“No.”

In the fire truck on the way to an emergency.

“Rosa?”

“No.”

Standing in line at the bank.

“Kimberly?”

“No.”

While he was trying to sleep.

“Daisy.”

“No.”

At Christopher’s Back-to-School night.

“Samantha.”

“No.”

In the Starbucks drive-thru.

“Dorcus.”

“What? No.”

Currently, they were waiting in the pickup line at Christopher’s school.

“Laurel.”

“No.”

“Tori.”

“Nope.”

“Bailey.”

“Nah.”

He was beginning to be thankful they had already decided on the middle name of Madelyn, in honor of her aunt, because he wouldn’t be able to handle another round of this.

“Jessica?”

“Definitely not. We agreed no names that reminded us of exes.”

Buck looked at Eddie pointedly. “We agreed on that when I thought you only dated Shannon. You dated a Jessica? Why do I not know this?”

“Because dated is a loose term.” He gave Buck a look to convey his meaning. “It was high school and Shannon and I were on a break. Jessica said she liked the way I filled out my baseball pants, so I took her out on a date and we fooled around a little. Shannon and I got back together a few days later. You know the rest.”

“Wow. You think you know everything about your spouse.”

Eddie winced. “It wasn’t my proudest moment, Buck. I felt like I had betrayed Shannon since the breakup was so short. I don’t like to talk about it.”

Buck gave him a sympathetic smile. “I get it.” He pointed to himself. “Buck 1.0, remember? I try to forget too.”

Eddie sent him a relieved smile in return for understanding.

“Now, back to the matter at hand. Leia?”

“Throwing in _Star Wars_ characters now? No, thank you.”

“Anastasia.”

“No.”

“Grace?”

“Maybe.”

“Finally a ‘maybe!’ I’ll put it on the list.”

“How many names do we even have on the list?” Eddie asked.

“Umm, so far we have Adeline and Olivia,” Buck said, confirming on his phone.

At that moment they approached the front of the pick up queue and Eddie pulled over to the curb where Christopher was waiting with his aide.

Buck jumped out of the vehicle, grabbed Christopher up in a hug, and greeted his aide before helping him into the back seat.

“Hey, mijo,” Eddie said.

“Hi, Dad!”

Buck hopped back inside and they pulled away.

“How was school?” he asked as he looked in the rear view mirror to see Christopher.

“We learned about dolphins! They use echolocation to find food.”

“Cool! We’ll have to find a book about dolphins at the library to read together,” Buck replied, once again staring at his phone.

Eddie pulled up to a stop light.

“Harley?”

Eddie scrunched up his nose. “No.”

“Hadley?”

Eddie chuckled. “No.”

“Harper?”

“Are we stuck on the H’s?” Eddie asked as he grinned at Buck.

“Can we get some ice cream?” Christopher piped up from the backseat.

Eddie and Buck smirked at each other. On the drive home on Friday afternoons, Christopher always asked for ice cream. 

Getting a subtle nod of agreement from Buck, Eddie said, “Fine, I’ll stop at Baskin Robbins, but you’re sharing one scoop with Papa. It may be Friday, but I don’t want to spoil your dinner, even if it’s just pizza.”

Buck and Christopher cheered and Buck leaned into the backseat to get a high-five.

“You’d think I had two children in the car with me right now,” Eddie said jokingly.

“Hey now!”

&&&

Ten minutes later, Eddie pulled into the shopping center where the ice cream shop was.

The trio exited the vehicle and Buck got Chris settled at a table inside the small store, while Eddie got in line.

“What do you guys want?” Eddie asked while he waited.

Buck looked at Chris. “Your choice, Superman.”

The smile that beamed back at them was contagious. “Strawberry!”

“One scoop of strawberry coming right up.” Eddie turned to the teenage girl behind the counter. “Could we get one scoop of strawberry in a cup, please?”

“Would you like any toppings?”

Eddie turned back towards Buck and saw him mouth _no_.

Eddie smiled at the server. “No, thank you.”

She rang them up and then handed Eddie the cup when she was done.

Eddie thanked her again and grabbed two spoons and some napkins before sitting down with his family.

Buck extended his phone towards Eddie. “Here. You scroll through and throw out some more names while I eat.”

Eddie grabbed the phone. “Don’t you think this is getting a little much? I like a small list. Less to have to choose from.”

“If you have to _choose,_ then we still haven’t found the right one. It should just feel right.”

Eddie looked over and saw Christopher had ice cream dripping down his chin since he had already dug in with gusto. The way they were sitting around the table, Eddie couldn’t reach him to clean him up. He knocked his knee into Buck’s to get his attention and then cocked his head towards their son.

Buck’s head swiveled and he quickly grabbed some of the napkins when he saw what was happening. “Oh, buddy. When you asked for ice cream, I thought you wanted to eat it, not wear it.”

Christopher giggled and then gave him a toothy grin as Buck cleaned up his face.

Eddie smiled at the giggles, but then focused his attention on the website Buck had up on his phone. He scrolled through the “T” names but nothing stuck out to him. 

He sighed and put the phone down on the table. He couldn’t believe how hard this was. It wasn’t this hard picking out Christopher’s name.

Buck looked at him then and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok. Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on the situation by throwing out names the way I am. Let’s forget about it for a couple of days and maybe something will come to us—like a sign from the universe.”

Eddie nodded.

“Dad?” Christopher asked softly.

Eddie turned towards his son. “Yes, buddy?”

Eddie watched as his son averted his eyes towards the table and slowly played with the ice cream still in the cup with his spoon.

“I had a dream last night about Mom.”

Eddie sat up a little straighter. After his mother’s death, Christopher had dreamt a lot about her. Some good. Some bad. It had been awhile since the last one though.

“Why didn’t you tell me this morning, mijo?”

Christopher shrugged and Buck wrapped his arm around his little shoulders.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eddie asked quietly.

Christopher shrugged again in response. Eddie sometimes suspected Christopher was worried he would hurt Buck’s feelings if he talked about her, but Buck was always supportive.

Buck squeezed Christopher’s shoulder and leaned into him. “It’s okay if you want to talk about it. And it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it”

“She looked really pretty.”

Eddie smiled and Buck nodded in encouragement.

“You’re mother was a beautiful woman, mijo.”

“She asked if I was excited to become a big brother.”

“Well, are you? Excited to be a big brother?” Buck asked.

Christopher beamed back at Buck and he vigorously nodded. “Good because you’re going to be an amazing brother.”

“Of course he’ll be a good brother. I taught him everything he knows.”

“Oh, so you’re saying he hasn’t learned a thing or two from me?” Buck asked.

“If there was a contest for best brother, I would win hands down,” Eddie added.

“Well, if there was a college course on how to be the best brother, I would have aced it—without having to crack open a book.”

“In my high school senior yearbook, my superlative was ‘best brother.’”

“In the dictionary, my face is next to ‘best brother.’”

Christopher smiled at their playful banter and happily grabbed another spoonful of ice cream.

Eddie and Buck chuckled. “I’m glad you had a nice dream about your mom, mijo.”

“Yeah. It was nice to see Mom—and meet Annalise.”

Eddie and Buck looked confusedly at him. “Who?”

“She was holding a baby in her arms. She said her name was Annalise and I would be meeting her very soon.”

Buck grabbed Eddie’s thigh under the table and squeezed. Eddie placed his hand on top of his. Their wide eyes connected. Leave it to Shannon to appear during another pivotal time of their lives.

Eddie believed sometimes Christopher dreams about his mom were more than just dreams. It was just the little details he would talk about that had him wondering. His belief was further cemented though when Shannon had come to him in a dream the night before marrying Buck.

In his dream, Shannon was standing by the bed smiling at him. “He’s a wonderful man, Eddie,” she had said. “He loves our son unconditionally. He loves _you_ unconditionally. You are going to have an amazing future—together—as a family.” And then she had just faded away.

Eddie had startled awake, his gaze affixed where she had been standing in the dream. A sense of peace immediately settled in his bones and he had known it was her way of giving him her blessing. He had called Buck—called, because Buck, superstitious to see each other before the ceremony, had decided to sleep at Maddie and Chim’s place—and told him what had happened.

And now this was the sign from the universe, or in this case, Shannon, they had been waiting for.

Buck squeezed Eddie’s thigh again. “Annalise.” Buck tested the name on his tongue. “It’s perfect,” he added in a whisper.

Eddie just nodded in response, feeling choked up.

“Annalise Madelyn Buckley-Diaz.” Buck chuckled. “It’s kind of a mouthful.”

Eddie chuckled too. “But it’s beautiful. A beautiful name for what I know will be a beautiful girl,” Eddie said. Their gaze connected and the pure love Eddie saw shining back at him made him breathless.

“What’s going on?” Christopher interrupted.

Eddie cleared his throat and quickly looked towards his son.

“You just helped us pick the name for your sister, mijo.”

“I did?” Christopher scrunched up his nose.

“Yeah, buddy...Annalise. You said your mother showed you a little girl named Annalise,” Buck supplied.

Christopher’s face took on a disappointed pout.

“What’s wrong,” Eddie asked, not understanding why Christopher was upset.

“But I wanted you to name her Dory.”

“Dory?” Eddie was surprised. “You mean after the fish?” 

Buck tried to stifle his laughter behind his hand as Christopher nodded at Eddie’s question.

“As much as Dory is a good name, we like Annalise, mijo. When you’re old enough to be a parent, we promise you can name your child anything you want.”

“Fine,” Christopher said, still slightly disappointed.

Eddie started gathering their trash. “Come on, Chris, time to head home. How about you pick two movies for us to watch tonight?” It was his attempt to lift his son’s spirits.

Apparently it worked.

“Really?!? Let’s go!” Christopher moved as quick as he could towards the exit, dragging Buck by the hand. Eddie followed behind.

&&&

Later that evening, Buck and Eddie were in their bedroom after tucking Christopher in bed. He’d only made it halfway through the second movie before conking out.

“I’m glad we finally decided on a name,” Eddie said as he pulled off his shirt.

“Yeah,” Buck replied as he stepped out of his jeans and threw them in the hamper. “I love that the name came from Shannon. It’s like she is blessing our little girl just like she gave us her blessing on our marriage.”

Eddie nodded in agreement as he pulled back the covers on his side of the bed and slid in. “I still can’t believe you suggested Dorcus though.”

“You thought I was serious?” Buck climbed into bed too. “That one was a test to see if you were actually paying attention. You were saying ‘no’ so much that I wasn’t sure you were listening anymore.”

Eddie laughed as he threw his arm around Buck and pulled him into his body, their legs tangling together.

“Where did you even find that name?”

“You don’t remember it from that movie?” Buck looked up at Eddie from where his head rested on his shoulder.

Eddie glanced down, confused. ”No. I can’t say that I do.”

Buck sighed. “I should have known. You are not detail-oriented.”

“Hey!” Eddie said, offended. He pinched Buck’s side.

“Ow! No pinching. You know I speak the truth.”

Eddie huffed, but agreed. “Okay, maybe I’m not the best at keeping the details straight, but that’s why I have you.

Buck sat up and started to move away. Eddie grabbed his arm to stop him. “Wait. Where are you going?” 

“I need my phone. I have to mark the day in my calendar where you finally admitted you aren’t the best at something.”

Eddie yanked Buck’s arm and pulled him back into his body. “Shut up and go to sleep.”

Buck snorted in laughter, but snuggled back into Eddie’s body.

They both yawned and Eddie felt himself starting to drift off until Buck whispered, “ _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers._ ”

“What?”

“The musical. _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_. We watched it the other day when Christopher was at Abuela’s and we were bored. Dorcus married the second oldest Pontipee brother, Benjamin. Her name stuck out to me because I had never heard it.”

“Oh, right.” Eddie suddenly remembered the movie he spoke of, but not the character names.

“You don’t remember any of the names, do you.”

“Nah, but that is why I have you.”

Eddie could feel Buck smile into his chest. 

“The guys were easy since they were alphabetical. Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense— _because ma said he smelled so sweet_ —and Gideon.”

“Ah.” Eddie muttered in response as he started to drift off.

“It also helped that they all looked so sexy with their outfits. Swinging axes. Hammering nails.”

Eddie’s eyes sprang open. “You do know I own flannel and a tool belt too, right?”

“You want to be my personal sexy lumberjack, Eddie?”

“Anytime, babe,” Eddie whispered seductively near Buck’s ear.

“Good. You can put Annalise’s changing table together tomorrow then.” Buck stifled a huge yawn before resting his hand back on Eddie’s chest.

Eddie groaned and threw his head back on the pillow. They had been arguing the other day about who would put it together. “I walked right into that one didn’t I?”

“Don’t worry,” he added quietly. “I’ll make sure I simper and swoon whenever you pick up the screwdriver.”

Eddie laughed, but then realized Buck’s breathing had evened out.

He put his hand on top of the one Buck had resting on his chest and closed his eyes to join his husband in sleep. He needed the rest because he had a changing table to put together in the morning.


	7. Baby Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Buck attend their Halloween themed baby shower. A surprise guest shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I had trouble figuring where to go with this one and I’m not entirely happy with it, but I could keep re-writing it for months if I don’t let it go. Hopefully you enjoy it.
> 
> I think I’ll be wrapping up this part in the next two chapters.

Eddie knocked on the door of the Nash-Grant house. It was the weekend before Halloween and he, Buck, and Christopher were there for a baby shower in their honor.

The door opened a moment later and Athena stood before them dressed as, well, Athena—the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. Eddie had never thought about how much her personality fit that of her namesake until he saw her in the costume. 

“The guests of honor have arrived! Come in,” she said as she hugged each one in turn as they entered the house.

Bobby, dressed as Helios—Greek god of the sun—came up the stairs into the entryway.

“Hey guys!”

“I love the themed costumes,” Buck added.

“Thanks,” Athena replied. “We decided to get the whole family involved. May is Artemis, Harry is Apollo, and Michael is Eros.” She gestured to the wall by the stairs to the living room. “We set up an area for everyone to take photos in their costumes. Come over so we take one of all of you together.”

The wall was draped with a white linen curtain and a banner across the top that read “PEEK-A-BOO!” in alternating orange and black letters.

Eddie quickly struck the iconic pose of Han Solo pointing his gun in the _Return of the Jedi_ poster, while Buck raised his arm holding a whip to copy Indiana Jones’ pose from the _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ poster. Christopher, dressed as Woody from _Toy Story_ , tipped his cowboy hat off.

“Perfect!” Athena commented as she adjusted the angle of her phone. “Say ‘Peek-a-Boo!’” They did as she commanded and the clicking of the phone camera was heard a few times.

“Can you send us those?” Buck asked as they relaxed their bodies.

“Sure, but we’re asking everyone to upload their photos with the hashtag ‘BuckleyDiazPeekABoo’ so you can easily access all the photos from the shower.

“That’s a great idea,” Eddie replied. “Yeah, thanks, Athena,” Buck agreed.

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t thank me. It was all May’s idea. She’s the social media maven around here.”

“ _And_ she takes that title _very_ seriously,” Bobby added before bending down to be eye level with Christopher.

“Speaking of May, she and Harry are outside setting up some games if you’d like to join them.”

Christopher beamed and looked up at his dads. “Can I?” he asked.

Eddie smiled warmly at his son and nodded his head. “Sure, mijo.”

They all watched to make sure he safely made his way down the few stairs before Buck made a move back to the side table near the front door. He grabbed the plate he had deposited there before posing for their photo.

“What’s this, Buckaroo? We told you not to bring anything,” Athena admonished.

“It’s the least we could do since you are hosting our baby shower, Athena,” Eddie said. “And I promise I didn’t touch it. I just supervised.” He smiled widely.

Athena cackled, while Buck nodded and presented his dish proudly. “It’s flan. Abuela taught me how to make it. I’m hoping it’s as good as hers.”

“I’m sure it's delicious, especially knowing your husband had no hand in making it,” she said, taking it from him. “Well, make yourselves comfortable. Everyone should start arriving shortly.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Eddie asked politely.

“No. It’s your party. Just relax and enjoy yourselves.” Athena wandered off to the kitchen.

Eddie started following Buck into the living room, but halted when he felt Bobby’s hand come down on his right shoulder.

Bobby leaned in and lowered his voice. “I like the costumes, but I thought Buck was adamant that you guys wear a couple’s costume.”

Eddie smirked. “He was until we watched _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ the other day. Buck said Indiana Jones was the most iconic role Harrison Ford ever played. I argued it was Han Solo. To save ourselves the debate, Buck decided they’d be our costumes for the shower and we’d let our guests vote.” Eddie shrugged. “So here we are.”

Bobby slapped him on the back and laughed. “Sounds like Buck.” He pointed his thumb towards the kitchen. “I better get back to help Athena.”

“Sure.” Bobby walked off and Eddie headed to his husband. Buck was busy taking pictures of the party decor.

Eddie put a hand on the small of his back and Buck leaned into him. “Everything looks awesome,” Buck murmured.

Eddie glanced around at his surroundings and grunted in agreement. 

Party favors of baby bottles filled with candy corn were sitting on a side table along with baby food jars filled with pumpkin sugar scrub.

There was a banner over the fireplace that said _A Baby is Brewing_ with a garland of hanging pumpkins and witches stirring cauldrons on the mantel.

A caramel apple making station was in the backyard where everyone could dip apple slices in caramel and put toppings of Oreo crumbles, chocolate chips, and nuts on top.

The dessert table had cookies shaped like onesies and bibs in decorative Halloween colors. The cake was two tiers with white buttercream frosting and orange dots. It had a cake topper of a pumpkin with a baby popping out of its lid.

“Oh my god. This cake is so cute!” Buck snapped a few photos from various angles.

Eddie could feel the love their chosen family had put into organizing this shower for them. It truly touched him.

To avoid Buck seeing how emotional he was getting, he made his way to the beverage table. One end was marked _Witches & Warlocks, _ while the under 21 section was marked as _Witch & Warlock Apprentices. _

He glanced inside the bowl of red punch on the non-alcoholic side and realized fake eyeballs were floating on top. “I bet you twenty bucks Chim is more freaked out by that than anyone else.”

Buck came over to see what Eddie was pointing at and then chuckled. “Nah, that’s a sucker’s bet. Chim’s been squeamish about eyeballs ever since that call with the elderly gentleman and his missing glass eye.”

Eddie snorted at the memory of Chim finding the eye floating in a glass of ice water.

“You know, I had my doubts when you said you wanted the baby shower to have a Halloween theme, but I have to admit, it turned out pretty cool.”

“When have I ever _NOT_ had a good idea?” Buck asked.

Eddie smirked. “Uh, how about earlier this month when we were on our babymoon at Big Bear Lake? You decided to stand up in the canoe to take a picture even though I told you not to and we wound up _in_ the lake instead of _on_ it. We had to get new cell phones because of that.”

Buck scoffed. “We’re going to laugh about that one day.”

Bobby walked over to put the flan on the dessert table. “Or how about last week at work when you decided to play _The Floor is Lava_ between calls and you broke the lamp jumping from the couch to the armchair,” Bobby added, clearly having overheard part of their conversation. “By the way, LAFD HR got back to me and your next paycheck will be docked to replace it.”

“Ok, ok.” Buck rolled his eyes. “Forget I asked.”

Eddie and Bobby shared an amused smile before Bobby headed back to the kitchen. Eddie noted Athena looked a little harried putting a tray of finger foods together.

“I’m going to head outside and check on the kids. Why don’t you sneak in the kitchen and try to help? They let you get away with more than me.”

“That’s because I’m their favorite,” Buck said with a smug smile.

Eddie pulled Buck into his body by the hand. “That’s okay. You’re my favorite too.” He leaned in and quickly pecked Buck’s lips before heading outside.

&&&

A couple hours later, the shower was in full swing and Eddie found himself grabbing his second beer of the afternoon. He had nursed his first slowly while mingling with family and friends at Buck’s side.

Thank god for his husband. He never completely felt comfortable in his own skin in social situations and Buck was always a nice buffer. Deciding to take a few quiet moments to himself, he had made polite excuses to Michael and his date before heading inside.

With his new beer in hand, Eddie turned and collided into a woman with long, brown hair in a black cat costume.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he stepped back to assess her for injuries. 

“Lena?!?” Eddie was shocked to see her, but quickly shook it off and leaned in to give her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

They pulled apart. “Your husband threatened me.” At his confused look she sighed and grabbed a beer. “He started blowing my phone up with cat memes and said if I didn’t come, he’d keep annoying me.” She smirked. “I figured this was the lesser of the two evils.”

He snorted in laughter. Definitely sounded like something his husband would do. “Well, I’m really glad you came.” 

In the aftermath of the disaster he’d made of his life with the illegal street fights, their budding friendship had quickly fizzled out. He’d meant to reach out to Lena to apologize, but he had been so focused on therapy and getting his friendship with Buck back on track—then navigating the tricky, but worthwhile transition from friends to lovers—then planning a wedding within three months—all while raising a kid, that it had never happened. Recently, the guilt had been bothering him and Buck had suggested he reach out to her.

So he did. He sent her a text asking if she wanted to grab coffee and catch up. She told him to “eat dirt.” He wrote he wanted the chance to apologize to her in person. She told him to “eat dirt and die.” As a last ditch effort, Buck had told him to invite her to the baby shower—to which he had gotten no response. But Buck had once again somehow managed to save the day.

“I’m sorry I was such a shitty friend,” he blurted.

Lena seemed slightly taken aback, but nodded. “I appreciate the apology. I sort of owe you one too. I wouldn’t have introduced you to the street fights if I had known how emotionally constipated you were.”

“Excuse me?”

She sighed again. “Emotionally constipated. You let your emotions build up and fester until they explode. I introduced you to the worst possible outlet for emotionally constipated people.”

“How I handled that is on me, not you. You had no idea. Hell, _I_ had no idea I had that much rage inside of me.”

“Eh, I probably should have had a clue when I had to bail your ass out of jail because you punched someone over a parking space.”

He winced at the memory before noticing Buck eyeing him from across the room. Buck’s eyebrow shot up and he cocked his head to silently ask _You okay?_

Eddie smiled softly and nodded in the affirmative.

Lena, having noticed the exchange stated, “You’re different. You seem less tense. Marriage must agree with you.”

“Marriage to _Buck_ agrees with me.” Lena smiled in understanding. “And the therapy sessions haven’t hurt either.”

Lena chuckled. “Well, I should say congratulations on the impending birth of your daughter. That is the reason we are here after all.” Her beer bottle clinked against his.

“Thanks,” he beamed in her direction.

They both turned towards the backyard to watch the partygoers. “So,” Eddie started. “I have to ask. You wore that cat costume to mess with my husband, didn’t you?”

Lena gave him a sly smile. “You know it. For some reason, I think he really believes I don’t like cats.”

“Might be because I shared with him our last conversation at the firehouse. How you tested me about the name of your cat, only you didn’t have one.”

“His inductive reasoning skills are a little lacking then. It was literally just the first thing that popped in my head.”

“I try not to question how his mind works.”

Buck walked up at that moment and put his arm around Eddie’s back. “Hi, Lena. Glad you could make it.”

“You didn’t give me much choice with the meme harassment, did ya?”

Buck shrugged, “I was supporting my husband. Not my fault you hate cats.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “Not owning a cat does not equate to hating cats.” She pulled out her phone. “In fact I even adopted one a couple of months ago. This is Buttercup.” She flashed them a picture of a short-haired orange and white striped cat sitting on a couch.

“How do I know that is really your cat?”

“Of course it’s my cat. You think I go around with pictures on my phone of a cat that doesn’t belong to me?”

“Crazier things have happened,” he responded with a smirk.

“Babe, it’s her cat. I recognize the couch,” Eddie added.

“Fine,” Buck conceded. “I actually came over because the kids want us to open our presents now.”

“K. Go get set up and I’ll be right there.” 

Buck nodded and kissed Eddie. “I do appreciate you coming, Lena. For my husband’s sake.”

As Buck headed outside to the table filled with presents, Eddie turned back to Lena. “I appreciate you coming too. I’d like the chance to rebuild our friendship.”

She gave him a soft smile. “I’d like that.”

“Cool. Maybe the three of us can grab drinks later this week. I’ll text you when I know what day works for us.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll bring the guy I’ve casually been seeing.”

Eddie smirked. “Even better. Fresh meat for Buck. He loves interrogating new people.”

&&&

Forty-five minutes later and they only had a few presents left. Christopher had been helping unwrap between bites of cookies. Eddie could guarantee a sugar coma was in his son’s near future.

“This is adorable!” Buck held up a custom made gray onesie with the LAFD emblem that said, _My Dads are two of L.A.’s Finest_. “Thanks, May!” He got up to give her a hug.

Eddie stood up too and pulled her into a side hug. “Thanks.”

“Open this one next,” Christopher said as he pushed a gift bag towards Buck with three cats wearing party hats and sunglasses. 

Buck looked at the attached tag and read aloud, “Your new kitten will be paw-sitively adorable. Lena.” A smile tugged at Eddie’s lips as Buck reached inside the bag.

Eddie was shocked to see Buck pull out a baby quilt. He unfolded it as Eddie stared in wonder.

Seeing his expression, she stated, “Besides not knowing I didn’t have a cat, you also didn’t know I love to sew.”

“You made this? It’s beautiful,” Buck said in awe, staring at the various panels. “Thank you.”

And with that, Eddie knew Lena had _paw-sitively_ cemented a place in Buck’s heart.

He leaned closer to get a better look at the quilt. There were 20 panels in all. Some repeating. One depicted a black kitten rolling around with a ball of pink yarn. Another showed two kittens bear hugging each other. One panel had a kitten chasing a butterfly, while another was sitting in a teacup. His absolute favorite panel though was of the kitten taking a “cat” nap with a dream bubble depicting a goldfish.

“This is really amazing, Lena.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Thank you.” The thoughtfulness and effort she put into the gift despite their friendship being on rocky ground truly touched him.

She smiled widely. “You’re welcome.”

Eddie helped Buck retold the quilt and put it back in the gift bag.

Athena came closer and pointed at the last present. It was a big rectangular box. “That is from Bobby and I.” 

“Athena, you didn’t have to get us anything. This party was more than enough,” Eddie admonished.

Athena waved away his comment. “Just open it already.”

Their guests chuckled.

Eddie started ripping off the wrapping by himself. As the gift was revealed, he realized it was the top of the line stroller Buck had really wanted—the one with sheepskin lining and bigger wheels to provide a more comfortable ride—but was too expensive for their budget. He stared, dumbfounded. After noting the mi-range model they put on their gift registry was still available, he had decided to pick up extra shifts to buy the model Buck wanted as a present to him. The only person in on his plan was the person responsible for making the schedules—Bobby.

Eddie quickly looked up and saw Bobby standing next to him.

“Thank you.” Bobby smiled and nodded. “But what about the extra shifts?” he whispered.

Bobby gave him a sly smile. “What extra shifts? You aren’t on the schedule for extra shifts.”

Eddie smirked before turning his attention back to Buck.

“Oh my god, Athena. Bobby. How did you know?” Buck questioned. “This is way too much.”

“Nonsense, my grandbaby needs to have a safe, comfortable ride. Eddie mentioned how you really liked this model.” She looked between Eddie and Buck. “You both deserve to have the very best to raise your little girl.”

Eddie stepped closer to Buck and grabbed his hand.

“I don’t know what to say,” Buck responded, clearly choked up.

“‘Thank you’ is generally the proper response,” Bobby supplied.

“Thank you,” Buck said and pulled Athena and Bobby into a three person hug. 

After Buck disengaged his hold, Eddie took over his spot and squeezed them tightly.

“Thank you for everything,” he whispered. “We are so blessed to have you in our lives. In our children’s lives.”

Eddie stepped back and caught Athena discreetly wiping tears from her eyes.

She cleared her throat. “Ok, enough of that.” She raised her voice. “There’s still plenty of food left, so eat, drink, and be merry you glamorous ghouls!”

Everyone gave a cheer and the fun commenced once again.

  
  


&&&

After the party ended, Eddie, Buck, and Christopher were all squeezed into the truck with their presents. The car seat Maddie and Chim had purchased for them was in the truck bed with their new stroller. The backseat was filled with gift bags and smaller items.

Christopher was dead to the world as he was buckled in. He had conked out on the living room couch while the truck had been loaded up.

Buck was quietly scrolling through pictures people had posted on Instagram of the shower and making comments. Maddie had even managed to capture Chim’s reaction to the fake eyeballs in the punch and it didn’t disappoint. Eddie couldn’t wait to bring that up Monday morning.

“After all that, I can’t believe it was a tie,” Buck said quietly.

“What was a tie, mi amor?” Eddie asked, confused.

“The vote about our costumes! We’ll never know now whether Han Solo or Indiana Jones is more iconic.”

“It was a tie?” Buck nodded. “Actually, I’m not surprised. I think both roles are equally iconic.”

“But we had a whole discussion about how you think Han Solo is better than Indiana Jones.”

“Well, yeah. But mainly I was arguing for Han Solo because you were so adamant it was Indiana Jones.

You get this cute expression on your face when you’re passionately arguing about something.”

“So, wait. You let us argue for 20 minutes all because you think I look cute during an argument?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Buck leaned back in his seat and smirked.

“Why do you look like the cat who ate the canary?” Eddie asked.

“Two can play that game. I’ll be using that information to my advantage in the future. Just you wait.”

Eddie inwardly cringed. “I’m sure you will. I’m already on pins and needles.”


	8. And teenager makes four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Buckley-Diaz family grows unexpectedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> I know nothing about the fostering process except what I see on t.v. I know my scenario is unlikely and I wrapped everything up with a neat bow, but it’s my story and it’s how I wanted to write it 😄.

It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and Buck decided to head to the grocery store to collect the ingredients to make his sweet potato casserole and famous pumpkin pie. Eddie, Chris, and him, along with his sister and her family, were spending the holiday at Abuela’s house.

The advantages to grocery shopping in the middle of the day on a Monday was Christopher was in school and Eddie was at work. He loved his boys to death, but they often turned simple grocery runs into marathons. 

“Papa, can I get gummy bears?”

“Babe, spaghetti-o’s?

“Papa, Kool-aid?”

“Babe, cool ranch or taco Doritos?”

It was nice to walk the aisles and not have to worry that sugary cereal and unhealthy snacks would appear in the cart without his knowledge (although he did throw in a tub of vanilla bean ice cream because that would make all three of them happy). He also didn’t have to say “no” on repeat. Eddie and Chris had one time jokingly said he should get the word tattooed across his forehead. He took the ribbing in stride. The health of his family was more important to him.

Buck was in and out in 25 minutes, a record even for himself, and was outside loading his Jeep with the few bags he had. He grabbed the now empty cart by the handle bar and headed to the cart return. 

As he turned back to his vehicle, he noticed movement in the back corner of the parking lot by a clothing and shoe donation bin. A disheveled looking man was sitting bent over with his head on his lap. Buck could never ignore a person in need and started to wander over to see if he could be of assistance. 

At the sound of his approaching footsteps against the pavement, the man looked up and locked eyes with Buck.

Buck’s breath hitched when he realized it wasn’t a small man, but a teenager looking back at him. A teenager who looked like his clothes had seen better days and he hadn’t had a good meal recently.

“Hey there. Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” Buck recognized the look of panic that entered his young eyes and could tell he was trying to decide if he should run. Buck immediately put up his hands to show him he meant no harm.

“Hey kid. It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt ya. I just wanted to check on you.” Buck slowly walked a little closer.

“My name is Evan Buckley, but my friends call me Buck. I’m a firefighter at the 118 fire station just down the street from here. What’s your name?”

The kid eyed him suspiciously, but answered. “Elias.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Elias. Do you mind if I sit next to you and keep you company for a little bit?”

Elias continued to stare at him and then shrugged. “It’s a free country.”

Buck slightly chuckled. “Indeed it is.” He sat a few feet from Elias, interlaced his fingers and rested them on his bent legs.

“My son, Christopher, likes to go to that park across the street. He’s eight and he loves the swings. He says it makes him feel like he’s flying.” Buck hoped letting Elias know he had a son would put him more at ease.

But Elias didn’t say anything in response.

“Well, it’s a beautiful day to be out in the sunshine.” He looked up to the sky before looking back at Elias. “I love hiking or going to the beach on nice days like this. What do you do for fun?”

“I like swimming.”

“Swimming is good. I like to swim too. Although, water and I had a little bit of a love/hate relationship for a bit.” At Elias’ confused look, Buck continued, “I was on the pier when the tsunami hit. Took some time to trust water again.”

“You were on the pier that day?” His voice took on a sad tone.

Buck nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I was there with my son.”

“What was it like?”

“What was ‘what’ like?”

“What was it like being on the pier during the tsunami?”

Buck puffed out a breath. “Scary as hell. It was pure chaos,” he answered honestly. “People running everywhere trying to outrun the water.”

He nodded in understanding. “My mom was there that day.” He paused and Buck’s whole body froze. “She didn’t make it.”

“Oh my god, Elias. I’m so sorry.” Buck wanted to lean over and comfort this boy so badly, but the action would probably scare him off.

“I saw the footage on the news and I always wonder what was going through her head. What were the last things she saw. Whether she was thinking of me.”

Buck cleared his throat. “As a parent myself, I can guarantee you she was thinking of you.”

Buck noticed a single tear run down Elias’ cheek. He quickly brought his arm up to swipe it off with his forearm in an effort to hide it.

“I can’t begin to imagine how you feel having lost your mother in that way, especially at your age. How old are you? Twelve?”

Elias straightened his back and puffed his chest to make himself look a little bigger. “Twelve? I’m fourteen.”

Buck had to fight a smile at his reaction. “So, what’s a fourteen year-old like yourself doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Elias bristled at the question and remained quiet.

“Elias, it’s okay. I know you don’t know me well enough to trust me, but I’d really like to help you. I can’t do that unless you tell me what the problem is. From the looks of you, you’re sorely in need of some clean clothes and a proper meal.”

Elias remained quiet.

Buck sighed quietly. He lost the tentative connection they had been building, but he was determined to do what he could to help him.

“How about this? I think I can at least help you get a hot meal to fill your belly. How about we go get something to eat?”

“I’m not some stupid kid,” he spit out. “I know I shouldn’t go anywhere with strangers.”

“Hey now! I never said you were stupid. I just want to help.”

Buck quickly thought what his next move should be. “I have an idea. Remember I said I was a firefighter?” At Elias’ nod, Buck continued. “Why don’t we head over there? It’s just a few of blocks from here. I can cook you a meal in the station’s kitchen. That way you’ll feel more comfortable since others will be around.”

Elias looked down the road as if trying to gauge the distance to the firehouse. “How would we get there?”

“We can go in my Jeep that is parked right over there.” He pointed at it.

Elias whipped his head back around. “Then you must think I’m even stupider if you think I’d get in a car with you.”

“Kid, I know you don’t know me, but at some point you’ll need to learn to trust someone. I genuinely want to help and I don’t expect anything in return.”

Despite the station being just a little up the road, it was too far to walk. He need a plan to get Elias to trust him enough to get into the Jeep.

He looked at his phone. “How about this? I’ll give you my phone. I’ll even have it set to dial 9-1-1.” He did that and handed it to Elias, then pulled out his wallet. “And I’ll give you my driver’s license so you have all my information.” He handed his ID over as well. “You can even sit in the backseat.”

Elias looked down at the phone and ID in his hands.

“Will that work?”

Elias nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Great!” Buck stood up and led Elias over to his car.

Buck unlocked the Jeep and opened the back door as Elias eyed the backseat. “Don’t mind the mess on the floor. Christopher likes to draw sometimes as I’m driving and tosses them down there. Been meaning to pick them up.”

Elias carefully climbed inside and took a seat. He still had Buck’s cellphone clutched in one hand and the ID in the other.

Buck shut the door and climbed in the driver’s seat.

“Why is there a baby seat back here?”

Buck started the engine. “My husband, Eddie, and I are expecting a baby next month.”

“Husband? You’re gay?” Buck didn’t miss the startled look that entered Elias’ eyes. Whether it was a good or bad reaction...he wasn’t sure yet.

“Bi, actually, but yeah. He’s a firefighter too.”

Buck checked his mirrors before pulling out of the parking space. He pulled up to the red stoplight at the parking lot exit.

He met Elias’ eyes in the rearview mirror. “So, what happened after your mom passed?”

“I got put in the foster system. About a month ago I was placed in a foster home with this couple and their two sons. The couple were nice, but their two sons were horrible. They made fun of me for being an orphan—that no one wanted me.” His face screwed in anger and his fists clenched before he said quietly, “Then they figured out I was gay. Living there became unbearable after that.”

Buck’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“I’d rather live on the street than deal with ignorant people like that.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. You shouldn’t be on the streets though, Elias. It’s not safe. What about your dad? Do you have any other family?”

Elias shook his head sadly. “My dad died in a car accident when I was little. It’s just been my mom and I for as long as I remember.”

_ What was he going to do with this kid?  _ Buck knew he needed to call social services, but he felt a connection to Elias. First, he’d get him some food and get him cleaned up. Then he would worry about the next step.

&&&

When they arrived at the fire station, Buck pulled into a spot next to Eddie’s truck.

“Here we are. Let’s go in and get you some grub.”

They exited the vehicle and headed inside the station truck bay.

“Hey, Buck! I thought it was your day off?”

Buck turned and saw the new probie, Sam Jennings, mopping the floor. “Hey, Probie. I just love it here so much, I can’t stay away.”

Buck quickly glanced around the mostly deserted floor. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

“Cap called lunch about 10 minutes ago. I’m just finishing up here before heading up.”

“Cool, thanks,” Buck said before turning to Elias. “You’re in luck. Bobby is an even better cook than I am.”

He led Elias up the stairs to the loft. 

“Hello everyone! Miss me?”

A half dozen pairs of eyes turned towards him in confusion.

“Buck? This is unexpected. What are you doing here?” Bobby asked as he paused in passing a dish to Hen.

“Uh...well...I made a new friend in the parking lot of Whole Foods. I thought he could join us for lunch.”

Buck saw everyone eyeing Elias’ disheveled appearance. He silently glared at everyone as a means to tell them to watch what they say since Elias was somewhat skittish.

Bobby quickly caught on and stood up to grab an extra plate. “Of course! The more the merrier.” Bobby put two extra place settings at the end of the table. “Please sit.”

Buck gently guided Elias to one of the empty chairs and helped him settle.

“This is Elias everyone.” Buck sat in the chair next to him as everyone greeted Elias. 

As Hen handed him the salad bowl, he glanced around the table and noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Eddie?”

Bobby grabbed a biscuit out of the bread basket. “He’s in the showers. He got a little dirty on the last call.”

Hen snorted. “Try a lot! You’re man tripped and fell in a mud wrestling pit. Head to toe covered in the stuff.”

Buck chuckled and handed the plate of fried chicken to Elias. “Oh, I bet he just loved that.” Eddie had a proclivity for showering even if he had only broken a minor sweat. He hated feeling like he was dirty or smelly.

“We had to hose him down on scene. Cap wouldn’t let him in the truck unless we did,” Chim added. “But when he sat in the truck he said he could still feel mud squishing in places he didn’t even want to think about.”

“Speaking of, here is Mr. Clean Freak now,” Hen muttered lowly with a smirk on her face.

Buck turned and saw his husband in his uniform with his wet hair slicked back away from his face. Eddie’s face lit up when he saw Buck at the table. “Buck!”

Eddie came towards him, but then a frown overtook his face. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is Christopher okay?...Maddie?” Then he stopped when he noticed Elias stuffing his mouth full of a chicken wing.

Buck stood up and placed his hands on Eddie’s forearms. “Everyone is fine. Do you mind if we step over into the kitchen for a second? We need to chat.”

Eddie nodded and headed in that direction. 

Buck put his hand on Elias’ shoulder and bent his head down. “I’ll just be over there for a minute. Eat as much as you want.” Elias nodded and took a bite of a roll he had just buttered. 

Buck walked up beside Eddie in the kitchen and mirrored his position of leaning back on the sink.

“What’s going on? Who is that?” Eddie whispered. 

“I made a new friend in the Whole Foods parking lot. His name is Elias. He’s had a rough go of it. He lost his mom during the tsunami.” Buck saw the devastated look cross Eddie’s face. It was the same look they all got when they remembered the tragic event. 

“His last foster home didn’t work out. The kids of the foster parents tormented him for being gay.”

Buck felt Eddie’s body stiffen.

“I feel a connection to him, Eddie. I was thinking since we are certified to foster that we should bring him home.”

Eddie inhaled a breath before fully standing and turning to fully face Buck. “You have a big heart, mi amor, but we don’t really know this kid. We’re about to have our hands full with a newborn. It’s not the ideal time.”

“Try telling that to that boy who lost his mother during a freak act of nature and has no one else. He seems like a bright kid who has been dealt a crap hand and I want to provide a safe home for him.”

“But we don’t really have the room.”

“It’s just space, Eddie. We’ll make it work. Imagine if that were Christopher. Wouldn’t you want someone to open their heart and home to him?”

“You had to mention our son, didn’t you.” Eddie sighed.

“Why can’t I ever say no to you?” 

Buck’s grin spread across his face and he pulled Eddie into his body. “Thank you.”

They broke apart when they heard the teenager exclaim “ _ No way! _ ” Chim was clearly regaling him with the story of his near fatal car accident since he was pointing at the scar on his forehead.

“We have to call social services and do this the right way though, Buck. We can start with Kathy. She said to call if we ever had any questions.”

Buck nodded just as Bobby approached them. “What’s the plan here, Buck? You know you have to contact social services, right?”

Buck threaded his fingers through Eddie’s. “We know, Bobby. We’re going to make the call and see if we can foster Elias.”

Bobby’s eyes went wide. “Foster? You just met this kid. You’re about to have a baby to take care of.”

Buck chuckled. “We know, but Elias needs a home and a stable, loving family. We can give him that.”

Bobby placed his hand on Buck’s shoulder. “You amaze me with how big your heart is.. I’m so proud of you.” He looked at Eddie. “Both of you. If you need anything, Athena and I are always here to help.”

“Thanks, Bobby,” Eddie said.

“You can use my office to make the phone call if you need it.”

“We’ll take you up on that. Thanks.” Buck squeezed Eddie’s hand and then tugged him behind. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Elias.”

Buck led Eddie over to the table. “Elias,” Buck said to get his attention. “This is my husband, Eddie.” Eddie nodded and Elias nodded in return. “Can you follow us? We’d like to have a chat.”

Elias eyed the remaining food on the table before he got up. He quickly stuffed an apple from the fruit bowl into his pocket and put a roll in his other pocket.

Once they entered Bobby’s office, Buck told Elias to sit in one of the chairs while he closed the door after Eddie entered. Eddie immediately went over to the desk and leaned on it.

“What’s going on?” Elias asked.

“Nothing bad,” Eddie started. “We just wanted to have a little chat about you possibly coming to live with us.”

“Live with you?”

“Yeah. We were certified as foster parents about a year ago,” Buck added.

“Is this a joke?”

“No joke, Elias,” Eddie added.

“What happens if I don’t want to live with you? Maybe I’d rather take my chances on the streets. Less disappointment.”

“We’re calling social services either way, Elias. You can’t live on the streets. You deserve to be part of a loving family. Whether that is with us or not. We’ll make sure you find a good foster placement either way.”

“But what if they don’t let me stay with you and they return me to my last foster home.”

“We are going to make sure that doesn’t happen, Elias. The minute you told me the story of how you lost your mother, I knew you were meant to be part of our family. We are going to fight for you. You have my promise. And you have Eddie’s promise.” 

Buck looked at Eddie at the same time Elias did and Eddie nodded in affirmation.

Elias blew out a breath. “Okay.”

“Okay!” Buck repeated more enthusiastically. “Eddie, call Kathy. What is the name of your case worker, Elias?”

“Eileen Tate.”

Eddie pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to find Kathy’s number and hit the button to call.

&&&

Later that evening, Buck and Eddie were changing for bed, while Elias was settling himself in their spare bedroom.

After calling Kathy from the fire house, she had immediately taken action and gotten in contact with Elias’ case worker. Never had Buck been more thankful for his ability to find commonality with anyone he encountered. He and Kathy had bonded over their love of baking pies when he and Eddie were applying to become foster parents . Due to that, she had remembered them and was willing to leap hurdles for them to make sure they could take Elias home that evening. 

Elias’ case worker, Eileen, had turned out to be a red-headed spitfire, who arrived at the fire station like a hurricane demanding to see Elias. Once she had assured herself of his physical well-being and talked with him privately, she worked with Kathy to get the necessary paperwork filled out. She even promised to look into Elias’ last foster situation after Buck had pulled her aside to fill her in on what Elias had shared with him.

“Aren’t you glad I talked you into the four bedroom rather than the three when we moved?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie begrudgingly admitted as he climbed under the covers.

Buck flopped down next to him making the mattress bounce and causing Eddie to roll more towards the middle. Buck took full advantage and wrapped all of his limbs around his husband.

“I’m so happy we were able to bring Elias home with us. That boy deserves a fresh start.”

“Mffffh,” came Eddie’s muffled agreement since his head was currently buried in Buck’s neck. He pulled it back so he could look Buck in the eyes. “You have the most genuine heart.” 

Buck smiled and leaned forward to bestow a kiss on Eddie’s lips as a thank you for the compliment.

He pulled back. “I’m just glad I a caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye when I returned the cart at Whole Foods.”

Buck’s body stiffened at his dawning realization and he slapped his forehead. “Oh no!”

“What’s wrong,” Eddie asked alarmed.

“I forgot about the groceries in the car!” Buck scrambled over Eddie to get out of the bed and swiped a shirt to put on. 

“Ahh! The ice cream! It must be a melted puddle by now!” He yelled before running out of the room.


	9. Never a Dull Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tale of Annalise’s birth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the final chapter! Sorry it took so long. It’s written in a different style than the other chapters. I had fun with this one, so I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Thanks to all those who read the story and left comments and kudos! I hope to re-visit this story arc in the future, but I have some other story ideas I want to explore in the meantime.

**December 12th**

**Buck**

_OMG! He’s so freaking adorable!_

Christopher was on stage dressed as a spotted elephant for his school’s annual holiday program. His class was currently singing _The Most Wonderful Day of the Year_ and all his classmates were dressed as toys from the Island Of Misfit Toys.

Christopher had come home earlier in the month upset that he had to look like a “sick” elephant instead of getting the part of the cowboy who rides an ostrich.

I quickly turned the tables on him by spouting some of the coolest facts about elephants I knew.

  1. They are the largest land animal
  2. Their tusks are actually teeth
  3. They have amazing memories
  4. They use their trunks as a snorkel when swimming
  5. They can spend up to three-quarters of their day eating



Christopher was so delighted that he demanded we immediately search the internet for costume ideas. Luckily, we found something that would fit him on Etsy—all we had to do was add some spots. Seeing his excitement was so worth the little fib I had to tell Eddie about how much it really cost.

Speaking of...

I turned to glance at my husband next to me who wore a proud smile on his face as he recorded the performance. He was on the aisle and had an unobstructed view of the stage.

To my right, Elias was watching the stage, arms crossed, with the usual sulkiness of a teenager who would rather be anywhere than where they were. 

He’s been with us almost a month now and we had our first notable squabble this evening when he refused to come to the concert. I told him “family shows up for family” (It’s my number one Buckley-Diaz family rule actually) and being a family member, he was expected to show.

He looked a little stunned if the slight widening of his eyes was any indication, but then they quickly narrowed and he responded, “Well, I haven’t quite decided if I want to be a member of this family yet.” 

Eddie told me later he’d never seen the vein in my neck pop quite like that before. Ultimately, I trumped him by pulling the parent card and told Elias he was going whether he wanted to or not and he better muster up some Christmas cheer!

I think he may have muttered something about where I could stick my Christmas cheer before retreating to his room. 

No matter. He was here now. And despite the current position of his arms, I noticed Elias’ foot was quietly tapping to the beat.

_Wait! We’re his lips moving along with the song too?_

I smugly settled deeper into my seat. _No Christmas cheer, my ass!_ I frowned. _Although...that’s probably where he told me to stick it._

**  
Elias**

_A jack-in-the-box waits for children to shout_ _"Wake up! Don't you know that it's time to come out?"_ _When Christmas Day is here..._ _The most wonderful day of the year._

_…..Okay, this isn’t so bad._

I’ll admit I didn’t want to come. No particular reason. I just didn’t feel like it.

I’ll also admit I was kind of being a brat about it to Buck, but he and Eddie need to be pushed. It’s better they find out now if they can’t handle taking on a kid who isn’t theirs by blood.

But then Buck had to go and say _family shows up for family_. That statement was a punch to my heart. My mom used to say that when I’d question why she came to my swim meets after working a double shift. She always showed up for me.

I should have stopped arguing at that point, but it’s like I couldn’t help myself. This family wants me. I know it—in my heart—and I want them—but trying to get my head on board is the issue. My life has been one disappointment after another since my mom passed. _Why would this be any different?_

My mom would be so disappointed in my behavior though. I can hear her now. “Elias Samuel! I raised you better than that! Now, apologize.”

I will apologize. Later. Show them the person my mother raised me to be. Be the big brother I always wished I had. Christopher deserves that. 

_Why do my socks suddenly feel wet?_ I lean over to look at the ground. _Huh, I don’t think that puddle was there before._

Maddie abruptly grabbed the armrest next to me so tightly her knuckles turned white. She started breathing heavily.

“Uh, are you alright?” 

Maddie shook her head and gritted out through clenched teeth, “My water just broke.”

_Ahhh…wait...Ew, gross!_

“Umm, Buck?”

“Yeah?” Buck leaned closer to me to hear.

“Maddie’s water broke,” I hissed quietly.

“What?!?” He said so sharply the couple behind us shushed him.

Buck ignored them and quickly glanced at his sister. “Your water broke?!?” Maddie could only nod in response as Chim tried to help her up.

Buck grabbed Eddie’s arm. “Maddie’s water broke.”

Eddie’s eyes widened before he leapt to his feet. “I’ll get Christopher. You help Maddie.”

Eddie took off running down the aisle and vaulted himself onto the stage in a move I’ve only seen done in the Olympics. He threw Christopher over his shoulder in front of the stunned music teacher and audience with a quick “sorry!” and jumped back down to join us.

The whole audience wasn’t gawking at us. _How embarrassing._

In the meantime, Buck is overturning chairs in an attempt to get to Maddie and make room.

I bent my head down and quickly filed out of the aisle to get out of the way and get away from the chaos.

_Please, don’t anyone recognize me. Please, don’t anyone recognize me._

_Oh shit. Is that Connor?_ I stumbled to a halt. Of course the one guy I’m currently crushing on in school would be here too.

_Aw, he looks so cute in his blue button down and khakis...Be cool!_

I gave him a “what’s up” nod as if the current chaos was totally normal. _Who am I kidding? This is probably normal for them._

_Oh my god! He nodded back! And he’s giving me that crooked smile!_

Suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder and I looked up to see Eddie frowning at me with Christopher still hanging over his shoulder. 

“We gotta go, E.”

I gave Connor a half-hearted wave and I quickly fell in step with him. _Maybe I’ll try to talk to Connor in gym class on Monday_.

**Chim**

_Come to Christopher’s holiday program_ they said. _Maddie’s not due for another week_ they said. Apparently, I’m the only one who remembers how many calls we’ve been on due to surprise early labors!

Never have I been more grateful to be a paramedic and have already been through this twice. If I didn’t know first hand how well Buck and Eddie handled themselves under pressure at work, I’d think a village somewhere was looking for their missing idiots. 

While my one brother-in-law elephant-napped his kid off stage, the other asked people to make room by shouting, ‘My sister’s having my baby!’” I ignored them in favor of grabbing my wife’s purse, started timing her contractions, and moved her towards the car. She probably could already tell this labor seemed to be progressing more rapidly than with our girls.

We exited the auditorium and Buck and I got Maddie settled in the back seat of our car before he climbed in after her. He was her breathing coach after all. I climbed in the driver seat and made sure Eddie was following in the Jeep with the boys.

When we arrived at the hospital, I pulled up to the emergency entrance. Eddie ran inside to get a nurse and wheelchair, while Buck and I helped Maddie out.

Eddie came back with the nurse a minute later and I helped Maddie sit in the wheelchair. 

The nurse looked pointedly at the three of us. “Which one of you is the daddy?”

Buck and Eddie simultaneously said, “I’m the dad.”

The nurse’s brow furrowed seeing I was the one holding Maddie’s hand. “Don’t look at me. I’m just the husband.”

She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. Only one of you can be in the labor and delivery room anyways. So whoever that is, follow me.” She turned and pushed Maddie inside, Buck running after her.

Eddie stood next to me looking lost. He needed direction. Something to do.

“Hey, why don’t you head up to the maternity ward and call your abuela and Bobby,” I suggested before pointing my thumb at Elias and Christopher. “I’ll bring these two knuckleheads up shortly.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Chim.” Eddie looked at the boys. “Be good.” Then he turned and headed inside.

“Come on, guys! I think this special occasion calls for ice cream.” I rubbed my hands together gleefully.

“Yay! Strawberry!” Christopher exclaimed as I led them inside towards the hospital cafeteria.

**Maddie**

I felt the sleepy fog I was under slowly dissipate. I smelled chemical disinfectant and heard beeping monitors. 

My eyes snapped open when I remembered where I was and why. I quickly glanced around until I found my brothers. A smile tugged at my lips.

Buck and Eddie were sitting shoulder to hip on the room’s sofa. Eddie had Annalise cradled in his arms and Buck was leaning into them. Huge grins spanned their faces as they cuddled and cooed at their daughter, Annalise.

“She has your nose, Buck. And your eyes.”

Buck nodded as he took her tiny hand in his. “I can’t get over how tiny her hands are. Look at those nails! So cute!”

Eddie chuckled. “Wait until you have to trim them all the time. You might not think they are so cute then.”

“Nothing about our daughter will never not be cute,” Buck argued.

I giggled and they both looked up at me.

“You’re awake!” Buck exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat and came closer to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

I took a minute to access how my body really was feeling. Sore...definitely sore. But a good sore.

“Nothing a little rest can’t cure.” I smiled up at him.

Buck leaned down and brushed a kiss against my forehead. “Best sister award goes to you,” he murmured.

“I second that.” Eddie approached, holding Annalise. He passed her to Buck before leaning down to kiss my cheek. “We are truly thankful for what you did for us.”

“Do you want to hold your niece?” Buck asked me.

I nodded and Buck placed her in my arms.

“Oh! She’s beautiful.” I studied Annalise’s features. “I agree she has your nose and eyes, Buck. But look at this full head of dark hair!”

Buck shrugged. “I often get mistaken as Christopher’s bio-dad because of our hair color and curls.” He nudged Eddie’s shoulder playfully. “Now it will be Eddie’s turn.”

Just then Chim burst into the room with Elias and Christopher in tow. “I finally got the ok to bring these two in. It’s officially visiting hours and there is a waiting room full of eager family. Figured we’d start small.”

Chim walked over and gave me a quick kiss and rubbed Annalise on the head. “How are you feeling?”

“Ok. The delivery went as smoothly as with the girls. Just faster. Definitely faster.”

“Yeah, the doctor barely got scrubbed in before she was told to push,” Buck added.

I noticed Elias was trying to get Christopher settled on the couch. “Would either of the big brothers like to hold their little sister?”

Christopher immediately jumped repeatedly in his seat with his hand wiggling in the air. “Me! Me!”

Elias chuckled. “He can go first.”

Eddie grabbed Annalise from my arms and carried her to Christopher. “Now you need to cradle her head, mijo.”

“I know, Dad,” Christopher said exasperatedly. “Papa already showed me a video on how to do it.”

“Well, excuse me,” Eddie said with a smile and stepped back to take some pictures.

**Christopher**

“Lean in a little, Elias, so I can get you all in the picture,” my dad said.

Elias leaned closer to me as I stared into my little sister’s eyes.

_I have a sister! I’m a big brother!_

I look at Elias next to me. _And I’m also a little brother!_

“Christopher, look towards the camera.”

I raised my head and plastered the biggest grin on my face. 

I heard the click of the camera go off. _I’m taking that picture to “show and tell” next week to show everyone my new siblings!_

I was a little sad earlier that I didn’t get to finish my song. I’d been practicing for days! Papa even said I was the best looking spotted elephant he’d ever seen when I’d tried on my costume. Dad teased Papa that I was the only spotted elephant he’d ever seen. Which led to more teasing. 

But in the end, I got ice cream and a little sister. _Best day ever_!

“Let me take your first family picture,” Uncle Chim said as he grabbed Dad’s phone.

“Mijo, let me hold Annalise while you sit on Papa’s lap.”

Dad grabbed Annalise and Papa scooped me up. He settled me across his legs before squeezing me in a bear hug. I giggled and he leaned his face forward to rest his chin on my shoulder. 

Dad sat next to Papa holding Annalise, while Elias squeezed in next to Dad.

“Say ‘family,’” Uncle Chim said before snapping some shots.

_This is my family!_

**Eddie**

“Thanks, Chim,” I said as he handed me back my phone after I deposited Annalise in Elias’ arms.

“No problem, brother.” He slapped his hand on my back. “Are you all up for some more visitors? Bobby and Athena are chomping at the bit to get in here. Your abuela and tia arrived too.”

“I think that would be alright.” I caught Buck’s eye and he nodded his agreement.

“K. I’ll go get ‘em.”

I took some more shots of Elias, Christopher, and Annalise together until I heard Athena’s commanding voice.

“Where is our precious new baby?”

I turned around and Athena kissed my cheek quickly before bee lining to the couch where the kids were.

I shook Bobby’s hand and kissed Abuela and Tia’s cheeks, accepting everyone’s congratulations.

“She’s beautiful,” Athena coo’ed. Athena was now holding Annalise and brought her over for Bobby, Abuela, and Tia to see.

As everyone broke off in varying conversations, Buck saddled up next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. 

“I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now,” he murmured.

“Agreed. I’m looking forward to this new chapter with you.” I turned my face towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

He turned his gaze towards me. “Of course you are. Life with me is irresistible.” A cheeky grin spreading across his face.

I quickly pinched his side before he could jump out of the way.

He laughed and then pulled me into a deep hug. He sighed against my neck. “I love you.” 

I squeezed him tighter. “I love you too, mi amor.”

We pulled apart, but kept our arms wrapped around each other.

“I can’t believe we now have our little girl,” he said with awe.

“I can’t believe in the past month we’ve gone from being parents of one to parents of three. Never a dull moment with us.”

Buck’s eyes widened. “Yes,” he replied. “And three is more than two.”

I chuckled. “The last time I checked it was.”

Buck turned towards Maddie. “Hey, Maddie! I just realized I now have more kids than you.”

I suddenly remembered how salty Buck had been a year ago when Maddie had used the fact she had more children to best Buck in their frequent game of _Who’s the better Buckley_?”

“Buck, I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again. Not a competition.”

“Well, Chim and I will just have to have another kid then,” Maddie added. “Then it will be a draw.”

Chim looked panicked at the prospect.

_Like I said, never a dull moment. And I wouldn’t have it any other way._

**Epilogue: Abuela**

“And that is the story of your birth, preciosa.”

Annalise, now 4 years old, stared at the framed photo taken at the hospital the day she was born while laying beside me in bed. This was not the first time she asked me to tell her the tale. It certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“Was I really that tiny?”

“Yes. You were muy pequeña.”

“Did Daddy really jump on the stage? Did Papa really knock over chairs?”

“Of course! They were so excited to meet you.”

I squeezed Annalise closer and tickled her sides. She giggled in response right as I leaned to smack a kiss on her cheek.

“Ok, time for you to get some sleep.” I took the picture frame from Annalise and put it back on the nightstand. “Elias is coming by early to get you for your gymnastics class.” Once Annalise had started to crawl, Eddie and Buck learned her energy never waned. They quickly found creative ways to keep her occupied—gymnastics being one of them. 

I climbed out of the bed and tucked the sheets around her.

“Is Connor coming too?” The hope in her eyes shone brightly. She worshipped her brothers, but Connor also held a special place in her heart. 

And why shouldn’t he? He’d been a part of her life as long as she remembered. First, as Elias’ best friend, and more recently as his boyfriend. If you asked Annalise, she didn’t have two older brothers—she had three.

“Probably. You know your brother and Connor are inseparable.” I brushed the hair away from her face. “Now get some sleep.” 

I made my way to the bedroom door and checked to make sure she was settled before reaching for the light switch.

“Bisabuela?”

I stopped. “Sí?”

“You always tell me all families are different. They come in all shapes and sizes. But the one thing they have in common is love.”

I nodded in response. “Exactamente.”

“Well, I like the shape and size of my family. We have a lot of love.”

“Yes, you do.” I cleared my throat. “Now, sleep.” I turned out the light.

“Good night, Bisabuela!”

“Buenas noches, Annalise.”

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are love.


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